Rome and the Distant East: Trade Routes to the ancient lands of Arabia, India and China

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In ancient times there were several major trade routes that connected the Roman Empire to exotic lands in the distant East. Ancient sources reveal that after the Augustan conquest of Egypt, valued commodities from India, Arabia and China became increasingly available to Roman society. These sources describe how Roman traders went far beyond the frontiers of their Empire, travelling on overland journeys and maritime voyages to acquire the silk, spices and aromatics of the remote East.
Records from ancient China, early India and a range of significant archaeological discoveries provide further evidence for these commercial contacts. Truly global in its scope, this study is the first comprehensive enquiry into the extent of this trade and its wider significance to the Roman world. It investigates the origins and development of Roman trade voyages across the Indian Ocean, considers the role of distant diplomacy and studies the organization of the overland trade networks that crossed the inner deserts of Arabia through the Incense Routes between the Yemeni Coast and ancient Palestine. It also considers the Silk Road that extended from Roman Syria across Iraq, through the Persian Empire into inner Asia and, ultimately, China.

Reviews

In the half century since Mortimer Wheeler's pioneering Rome Beyond the Imperial Frontiers appeared, the archaeological and scholarly inquiry of the Far East has expanded dramatically. A synthetic up-to-date account of the progress of this inquiry has been a desideratum. Raoul McLaughlin's Rome and the Distant East has heroically tackled this important task, assembling the exotic and esoteric literature, and with penetrating insight analyzed the extensive trade that characterized the international world of the early Roman imperium. The study is comprehensive, involving both the aromatics trade with Arabia and India, and the fabled Silk Road that connected China with the distant Da Qinas the Chinese called Romein the west, and exploring the commercial arteries, both the overland caravan routes and sea routes, and including a discussion of the impact of the luxury trade on the Roman economy. There is much to glean from this stimulating and interesting study that should attract historians, economists, and a variety of other scholars -- Professor David Graf, University of Miami, US
This is the first comprehensive, reliable accountof the extensive overland and maritime trade between the Roman Empire and the "Distant East" in the early centuries CE. It is well-researched, well-written, and well-supported with liberal quotes, useful maps, and an excellent bibliography. It clearly describes how important these early contacts were, both economically and for the exchange of ideas, across Eurasia - contacts that continue to influence our world today and our understanding of it. His vivid descriptions of the difficulties faced and overcome in establishing these intercontinental and trans-oceanic trade routes are particularly fascinating. This work already has a permanent place among the few treasured references I always keep to hand while writing. I heartily recommend it as essential reading for anyone with an interest in the ancient history of the Silk Routes, the Roman or Chinese Empires, India, Persia, or the lands between. It is certain to open new vistas, and deepen appreciation of both ancient and modern societies. -- John E. Hill, author of Through the Jade Gate to Rome
Featured on further reading list in History Today article.

Author Bio

Dr Raoul McLaughlin is a Tutor at Queen's University Belfast. His research interests include Roman commerce and the ancient economy.